The problem with taking an extended blogging leave of absence is that when I return I have WAY too much to tell you in one post, plus there’s always the extraneous blather I ladle over the top. It’s sort of like a Thanksgiving dinner plate, overloaded with food and drowned in gravy.

I feel obliged to begin by saying that I took a number of photos using a new set up and I don’t much care for the results. I am too lazy to go back and re-take the photographs, so I ask your indulgence and hope you’ll forgive the odd tint these photos share. I don’t want you to get the impression that my “set-up” is anything sophisticated. It consists of a couple of sheets of foam core (which have just about reached the end of their useful lives) and my much-abused Casio point-and-push camera. I normally take the photos in the morning downstairs in my kitchen, because the light is absolutely gorgeous. For some unfathomable reason I decided to change something that wasn’t broken and tried taking them upstairs at night in my stamp studio with the Ott light. Bad decision. If it’s not broken…and all that. I’ll go back to the kitchen.

And back to the kitchen is what I really want to talk about. I’ve worked and sat and talked in a lot of kitchens in my life. They’ve been places to cook, eat, talk, confess, cry, laugh and make memories. This past Thanksgiving I shared a kitchen with two wonderful friends and can’t wait to repeat the experience. I’ve been the Thanksgiving Executive Chef for most of the past 20 years we’ve lived in Hawaii, and it was a tremendous joy to share the responsibilities this year. Three talented cooks joining forces yielded one fabulous meal – and we were all relaxed and able to enjoy the meal. I know – what a concept!

Meanwhile, a quarter of the way around the world my firstborn was preparing her first solo Thanksgiving feast. We held a number of consultations online and on the phone as we tried to compensate for her lack of resources – some due to finances and being in that “just starting out” stage of life, and some due to location. Her 11 pound Thanksgiving turkey cost $85 – in Perth, Australia! The one store that carried canned pumpkin (at $8 a can) was sold out, and the frozen cranberries had seeds. A little Yankee ingenuity and shared effort throughout her international community of friends yielded marvelous results, and I’m looking forward to seeing the photos (hint, hint, Carol!)

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